Metronomes have been well-known for many years to help musicians keep the beat. The modern embodiment of the metronome is the click track used by many musicians and which is in the form of a beat, including one or more sound, generated by an electronic rhythm machine or played from a pre-recorded track. This beat can be played through headphones or loud-speakers. The quality of the sounds produced by current rhythm box is such that current click tracks are sometimes used to complement or even replace live drumming.
Paradoxically, even though sampling technologies may be used to generate a drum or percussion sound to make it more realistic, a drummer desiring to use the actual sound of his bass-drum or of one of his tom-toms or cymbals in a click track or to complement his drumming during a drum cession, has to go through the whole process of actually sampling the corresponding drum sound. Moreover, even the best drum sampling may sound odd when played mixed with other drums.
A system allowing automatically and naturally triggering the sound of a drum or of any other percussion instrument is thus desirable.